Share Article

Chief Judge, Vaughn R. Walker, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed against Uri Geller, who was represented by Richard Winelander, Esq. of Baltimore, Maryland.

UriThumb

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB)February 13, 2008

Chief Judge, Vaughn R. Walker, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed against Uri Geller. In his 25 page opinion, Judge Walker decided the United States District Court in San Francisco did not have jurisdiction over Geller a British subject, represented by Richard Winelander, Esq. of Baltimore, Maryland, or over Explorologist, LTD, an English company that holds certain rights to him.

At the center of the controversy was a notification sent by a corporate employee requesting YouTube to take down a video clip posted by a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania skeptic. The takedown request stated that the posting contained a video clip (showing Geller's personal medical doctor introducing Geller in a charity show) and photographs owned by the corporation. Geller and Explorologist, LTD, argued that there were multiple reasons to dismiss the case, including that the court lacked both personal jurisdiction over the defendants and subject matter jurisdiction over an international DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown based on English law. They also argued that the statements made by the corporate employee were true.

Judge Walker did not reach the issue as to the truth of the corporate statement. However, he was clearly troubled by the thought of applying United States Copyright Law to a YouTube takedown made by a foreign corporation in a foreign land. Judge Walker also suggested that the case could be handled in Philadelphia where Explorologist, LTD filed an earlier suit against the same skeptic, claiming that the YouTube post violated English Copyright Law. According to Winelander, both lawsuits test the outer limits of territorial jurisdiction of U.S. Courts over international copyright disputes occurring in cyberspace.